Dogs are hosts of the rabies virus (though other mammals like cats and monkeys can also act as carriers). Being most in contact with humans, dogs are chiefly responsible for transmitting rabies, and hence they used to be inhumanely killed through mass poisoning, shootings and government- initiated culling programmes worldwide.
The strategy never worked because it had no scientific basis. Experts have finally concluded that the best approach is to try to altogether eliminate the rabies virus from the existing canine population and simultaneously prevent new dog births through mass sterilisation of the dog population. The World Health Organisation recommends vaccination of 70 per cent of the resident dog population consecutively for 2-3 years to efficiently eliminate the disease. In Goa, the Mission Rabies plan launched on April 1, 2014 is simple and scientific: Sterilise and vaccinate 70 per cent of the dogs in Goa within the first year. Thereafter, re-vaccinate all dogs every year, for the next two years to ensure that there are no rabies carrying canines left in the state of Goa. Simultaneously, a “rabies hotline,” active surveillance teams and an intense community support and education programmes have been set up.
The first milestone of 10,000 dogs neutered was reached in the 15th week (mid-July) of the programe. Of these 10,141 dogs, over 6,000 are female. If 70 per cent of these females had produced just one litter of six puppies in the following year, this one statistic alone indicates that the project has already prevented 30,000 potential and unwanted puppies on the streets of Goa. Another 10,000 dogs will be covered before September 2014. The programme which is already underway in
the major towns is now fanning out into the adjacent panchayat areas. What is most heartening is that the Goa Government has shown great enthusiasm and support for the mission from the very beginning. The Chief Minister has extended his support to the project and ministers of key departments (animal husbandry, tourism,
town planning) have met with Mission Rabies officials to work out the specifics of the programme.
Goa was chosen by the Mission Rabies
UK team (even though there was a
clamour from other parts of India for
the project to be started elsewhere) for
several reasons: One, because it’s a
small state and easily covered within
reasonable time. Two, a stray dog sterilisation
programme has already been
conducted in here in the past decade
and some of the infrastructure was
readily available. As a high profile international
destination, Goa would certainly
benefit from a rabies free certification
from an international professional
team.
In order to rapidly build capacity for
the project, Mission Rabies has brought
in 60–70 staff from Bihar and Tamil
Nadu and conducted training courses
for local vets to upgrade their skills.
Three main hubs have been established
in the state and teams of vets are supported
by dog catchers, nursing assistants
and data collectors to ensure a
high welfare project conducted along
systematic, scientific principles.
• Dog-catching is done with GPS –
this data helps to direct the catching
teams and also ensures that eventually
all areas are covered and no pockets of
un-neutered dogs are overlooked.
• A case management system ensures
that each animal is traceable through
the system from the point of capture to
release.
• A ‘rabies hotline’ (07744029586)
has been established to encourage
members of the public to report issues
of concern—whether these relate to
post-operative complications in dogs
put back on the street or potentially
rabid dogs.
• Over 10,000 leaflets have been distributed
to generate support for the
programme and create public awareness
of the efforts of animal welfare activists
to keep the human population
safe from this disease.
• A school education programme has
been launched to explain to youngsters
how to avoid dog bites, what to do if
one is bitten and why one must have
compassion for animals.
For Mission Rabies to succeed, cooperation
from the public is vital. For it is
not just stray dogs that carry the rabies
virus, pet dogs are equally susceptible.
Many of the rabid dogs detected in the
past have been pet dogs, whose owners
have turned them out on the streets
when they found the animal behaving
strangely (biting, sullen and withdrawn,
refusing food and water, etc.).
A sample study of 2,000 individuals
conducted by the department of preventive
and social medicine, government
of Goa, a decade ago had concluded
that only 26 per cent of dog bites
were from stray dogs while an overwhelming
74 per cent were by owner
dogs. This is because pets have a
stronger sense of territory and easily
get aggressive when people enter their
domain.
Dog breeders too need to exercise
control over the types of animals they
breed and restrict the production of
known aggressive breeds. These are
fancied for their prestige, but when not
trained, they can become highly undisciplined,
leading owners to dump them
when they themselves become afraid
of their pets.
To get maximum cooperation from the
dog-owning public, Mission Rabies is offering
free vaccinations to all pet dogs
for the entire three years and free sterilisations
for pets till September 2014.
Mission Rabies is a highly motivated
programme and is pulling out all the
stops to ensure success. Teams of dog
catchers are braving the rains to catch
dogs in narrow streets, wide beach areas
and crowded market places. Vets
work till late evening at the animal shelters
to complete neutering the dogs, for
the next day will bring a fresh consignment.
Only healthy dogs which show
no signs of post operative complications
are released.
All that we need to do is to support
the teams when they visit our neighbourhoods
and cooperate with them if
we have pets.
(Norma Alvares is an environmental
lawyer and an animal welfare activist.)
